An ousted Canton Public School Board member is asking the state Ethics Commission to decide whether two aldermen who are also school district employees ran afoul of ethics laws when they voted to rescind her appointment.

Dorothy Harris says she was removed from the district’s school board in March.

Eric Gilkey, a maintenance worker with the district, and Daphne Sims, a Canton Public Schools teacher, have both voted on district-related matters as aldermen.

Gilkey would not speak on the record for this story, and Sims did not return repeated phone calls for comment.

Harris has asked the state’s ethics watchdog to probe whether the participation of both was legal.

That question is likely to hinge on whether Gilkey or Sims received any type of monetary benefit.

For example, if either party agreed to appoint an individual to the school board in exchange for a pay raise, they could be found in violation of the state’s ethics laws.

In a 2015 opinion, the commission advised that an alderman employed by a municipal school district should recuse himself from all matters involving the school system, including appointments to the school board, “to avoid the appearance of impropriety.” An exception could be made, however, in cases where the recusal would cause the board to lose a quorum.

Harris believes the root cause of her dismissal was motivated by a desire to see the firing of since-ousted superintendent Cassandra Williams.

“When you add it all up and look at the equation, they (the board of aldermen) appointed people who would dance by their music. This has been in the works for a while,” she said.

Aside from two interviews with broadcast outlets, Williams has declined to speak at length about her firing.

Williams told WLBT that school board member Courtney Rainey approached a district principal with a request to promote Sims.

It’s unclear whether the allegation could become a sticking point during an ethics review because Rainey, who represents the added territory of Canton, is the only elected member of the school board, meaning the board had no say in her appointment.

Adding to the alleged tension, Williams said was an incident involving Sims and a fifth-grade student that resulted in disciplinary action against Sims.

The Clarion Ledger has requested the incident report detailing Sims’ alleged actions from the state Department of Education.

Harris' complaint is not the first concerning Canton City Hall.

On Friday, the state Ethics Commission ruled Canton Mayor William Truly violated the state's open meetings act when he asked Rainey to leave an April 3 board of aldermen meeting.

Truly argued that two other school board members were already in attendance at the meeting.

The action, he said, was prompted by his concern that the presence of Rainey constituted a quorum of the school board. The state Ethics Commission recommended that Truly pay a $250 fine for the violation.

"The only legal means to exclude anyone from a public meeting is by following the executive session procedure described in Section 25-41-7," Sonia Shurden, a hearing officer for the commission wrote.